The Blood of My Brother

Unlike many previous films on the Iraq War that have focused on the experiences of U.S. troops, or Iraqis working with American-sponsored attempts at reconstruction, Andrew Berends' The Blood of My Brother looks at the opposition, centering on Ibrahim al-Azawi, a 19-year-old Shiite traumatized by the death of his older brother Ra'ad, who was shot by U.S. soldiers while he and his friends were guarding a Baghdad mosque. Ra'ad had been the family breadwinner, and after his death Ibrahim struggles unsuccessfully to take his place, trying to run the small shop his brother operated with a friend, while also comforting his grieving family and nursing his anger. Indeed, Ibrahim's fury with the Americans leads him to consider joining the Mehdi army loyal to radical mullah Moqtada al-Sadr, members of which are shown—in some remarkably vivid footage—engaged in street battles against coalition forces. The Blood of My Brother is a powerful human story (though it could have been more tightly edited), and while it does include interviews with U.S. soldiers talking about the dangers they face in Iraq, the film's most important contribution is to introduce viewers to a segment of the Iraqi population that remains mysterious to most Americans, a Shiite community increasingly radicalized by the U.S. occupation. DVD extras include an audio commentary by the director and deleted scenes. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)